Tuesday Briefing: Biden pushes 17 years of free school

The Reuters Daily Briefing Tuesday, May 4, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Bill and Melinda Gates split, millennials take a shine to lab-made diamonds, and an expletive-laced war of words over the South China Sea Today's biggest stories President Joe Biden gestures in a classroom during a visit to Yorktown Elementary School in Yorktown, Virginia, May 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. President Joe Biden called on wealthy Americans and corporations to pay their "fair share" to fund free community college and other benefits for workers as he promoted his sweeping jobs and safety-net plans in Virginia. The U.S. Supreme Court today weighs whether low-level crack cocaine offenders should benefit under a 2018 federal law that reduced certain prison sentences in part to address racial disparities detrimental to Black defendants. Declaring Lubbock a “sanctuary city” for the unborn, voters have approved a local ban on almost all abortions, and the Texas legislature is considering a law to bar the procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of one of the world’s largest private charitable foundations, filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage but pledged to continue their philanthropic work together. The split, which follows Melinda’s long journey away from Bill’s shadow, will entail complex decisions about how to handle their wealth. Rescuers work at a site where an overpass for a metro partially collapsed with train cars on it at Olivos station in Mexico City, May 3, 2021. REUTERS/Luis Cortes WORLD At least 23 people were killed and 65 were hospitalized when a railway overpass and train collapsed onto a busy road in Mexico City, crushing cars under fallen carriages and rubble. India halted its most popular sports tournament and the country’s opposition chief called for a nationwide lockdown as the number of coronavirus infections climbed past 20 million, a dismal milestone crossed only by the United States. China urged the Philippines to observe "basic etiquette" and eschew megaphone diplomacy after the southeast Asian nation's foreign minister used an expletive-laced Twitter message to demand that China's vessels leave disputed waters. Diplomatic dance or standoff? While North Korea's barrage of complaints about Biden's policies over the weekend might appear to be ratcheting up tensions, some signs suggest Pyongyang hasn't ruled out diplomacy with the new team in Washington. BUSINESS Pfizer has forecast $26 billion in sales of the COVID-19 vaccine this year, an increase of more than 70% from its last projection. The vaccine, which it co-developed with Germany's BioNTech, generated $3.5 billion in revenue in the first quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. The Biden administration has approved a major solar energy project in the California desert that will be capable of powering nearly 90,000 homes. Biden has vowed to expand development of renewable energy projects on public lands as part of a broader agenda to fight climate change and create jobs. Berkshire Hathaway shareholders can accept Chairman Warren Buffett's hostility to bitcoin, blank-check acquisition firms and wild bets on trading app Robinhood. But when it comes to environmental, social and corporate governance standards, many are drawing a line. Pandora, the jewellery maker best know for its silver charm bracelets, is to stop selling mined diamonds and focus on more affordable, sustainable, lab-grown gems. The move comes amid a growing acceptance of man-made diamonds by millennials attracted to cheaper stones guaranteed not to have come from conflict zones. Quote of the day "What we're seeing right now is the definition of speculative excess. There's money being thrown at anything in the crypto space" Kyle Rodda IG Markets analyst Ethereum finds new peak in sizzling crypto market Video of the day Italy unveils new hi-tech floor design for Colosseum The flexible floor will give tourists a clearer idea of how the arena would have looked when gladiators fought to the death there. And finally… Mounted archers take aim in Gaza "I want to revive this sport and to encourage youth to practise it because it helps release bad energy," says Mohammad Abu Musaed, who is training the first team of horseback archers in the Gaza Strip. More from Reuters COVID-19 Investigations Breakingviews Legal News Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036